Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(109)

“I’m peeing on a stick at the first given opportunity,” I swore. “And after that, the two of you are waiting on me hand and foot for the next nine months.”

“Z,” Neil said from the bottom of the stairs. “You should hurry. Myrddin and Nim are screaming at each other.”

“About what?” I hurried down because if Nim was going to turn Myrddin into a pretzel, then I wanted to see it.

“I don’t know.” Neil guided me toward the stairs to the dungeons. “You know how Myrddin’s been doing all that prophecy stuff? Well, he thinks he knows what’s going to happen and he won’t tell Nim.”

I could hear Nim yelling from the top of the stairs.

“You can’t! You know we can’t do that,” Nim yelled, her voice hoarse. It was obvious they had been at it for a while. “He needs you. He needs a mentor now more than ever. You can’t just leave him.”

I wanted to jump up and down and throw a big old party at the thought of Myrddin leaving, but then I saw Daniel’s face. He steeled himself and started down the stairs.

“Damn it, Dan,” Dev cursed. “Be careful, please.”

Daniel wasn’t listening. He rushed toward the fight and Dev, Neil, and I followed.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Daniel asked, and I heard the little boy behind the question. It made me wonder what that single moment when Daniel had reached out and Myrddin answered had meant to my husband.

Myrddin’s face was long as he turned to his pupil. “Daniel, you have to understand that things will play out as they will. I’ve spent the days since I fixed your heart in quiet contemplation. I have been musing on the way things must work and I’ve come to several conclusions.”

“Like I don’t need you?” Daniel asked and there was an accusation behind the question.

Myrddin sent him a sad smile. “You do not, Your Highness. Not just yet.”

Daniel’s jaw firmed, a sign of stubborn will. “How can you say that? I just had surgery and I have to go out to the biggest fight of my life. I need everyone I can gather on my side.”

The wizard walked forward and placed his hands on Daniel’s shoulders. They were almost the same height and Myrddin looked deeply into Daniel’s eyes, seeming to find some connection there. “I know that it seems like that, my king, but this is merely the beginning. I have come to the conclusion that I must step back and allow you to claim the crown on your own. It’s a mistake I made with Arthur that I don’t intend to make with you.”

Daniel moved away from him and began to pace the room. “How is it a mistake to get my crown? I thought that was the goal of all of this.”

“I believe Myrddin is saying he needs to allow you to claim your crown on your own,” Dev interjected. He looked back at me and it was easy to see Dev was perfectly fine with Myrddin leaving.

The wizard nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Daniel, I don’t want to take this step but I believe it’s important. Part of Arthur’s problem during his reign was the fact that some of his subjects believed I placed him on the throne and then controlled him. It was not the truth, but we couldn’t get past the rumor with some.”

“So you just let me hang?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know what you mean by that, Daniel,” he replied, obviously confused by the modern slang. “Please don’t think that I want you to fail. I’m only doing this because I know you will succeed. You’ll gain your crown and it won’t be tainted by my presence. You’ll be the king and no one can challenge you on it. When the time comes, and it will, I will return to you and be your good counselor.”

“I don’t give a damn what people think,” Daniel challenged him. “I don’t give a real damn about any of this. I just want to get it over so I can have my life back.”

Sorrow dimmed Nim’s natural light as she approached the vampire. “Daniel, I’m so sorry but whatever life you’re talking about is gone. You will either be the King of all Vampire or you will die. If you die, Devinshea and Zoey won’t be far behind. Once you’re king, your life will be changed forever. You will never be the anonymous husband and father you wanted to be. You will never be left alone to live a quiet life. It’s a sad truth about those with a grand destiny.”

“I didn’t ask for a grand destiny.” Daniel argued, but he was caught and had been for a very long time. “I don’t want it.”

“Which is why you were chosen, Daniel,” Myrddin said gravely. “Fame seekers and gold diggers are not given these great gifts for the simple fact that they would misuse them. But you were given great compensation for the job you must do. You were given your queen and your friend. Not many people get to spend a long lifetime with two people they love.”

Daniel slumped into the nearest available chair, and I moved to his side, tucking my hand into his. Dev sat next to him. “And I am grateful for the love I’ve been given, but I don’t see why I can’t have someone to guide me through this. I don’t know how to be a king. I was born in Newport, Rhode Island. I was raised in Dallas. There aren’t a lot of kings there. My dad was a thief and my mom worked at a beauty salon washing people’s hair. I don’t how to do this.”

Myrddin knelt at the king’s knee. “You do, Your Highness. You know what to do deep down. You know what the world needs and you know how to achieve it. The rest of the stuff, the rituals and superficialities, Devinshea can teach you, but you were born to do this. I don’t care where you were born or where you were raised, you were born a king and you will die one. No counselor can change that. Trust your queen. Trust your partner. Trust yourself. You will win the day and you will rule wisely. When you have true need of me, I’ll come for you and then we can keep our acquaintance quiet. It doesn’t need to taint your crown.”